The United States Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women has gifted Winston-Salem State University a grant for $500,000 to help combat domestic violence on campus. The grant will support a new project aimed at addressing domestic violence and related issues in the community while creating a safer and more supportive environment. The program, called RamsSafe (Rams Stop Abuse for Everyone), uses culturally appropriate tactics to address sexual assault, dating violence, domestic abuse, and stalking.
In order to develop successful preventative and intervention strategies against violence against women, RamsSafe will help students, teachers, university administration, and local community partners collaborate. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Winston-Salem Police Department, and Family Services of Forsyth County are important community partners that will provide direction and feedback on program management and content creation.
To make sure the program successfully reaches its target audience, several Winston-Salem offices, including counseling services, Title IX, housing and residential life, and campus police, will collaborate. The program is under the Student Affairs Division’s health and wellbeing section.
Winston-Salem Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs for Health and Well-Being,Candice Jackson,n is spearheading the program. Along with a recently hired program coordinator who specializes in advocacy and assessment, she will supervise the program’s development. In order to empower students and advance safety, she expressed excitement about developinginstructional resources, ,including seminars, films, and awareness campaigns.
“The primary inspiration stemmed from our commitment to the health, safety, and well-being of our students,” Jackson stated. “We recognize it is our collective community’s responsibility to help students be safe from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. We saw an opportunity to provide our campus community with resources and upstander intervention training.”
Jackson went on to stress the value of trauma-informed instruction and comprehensive support networks for students who are victims of abuse, including domestic violence.
“I firmly believe that the Department of Justice’s investment in Winston-Salem State University will help us build and expand on the work we are doing to enhance trauma-informed education and our holistic care for our students navigating domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault,” she added.
